Sunday, March 31, 2013

Happy Easter!

Hello, Hello! Sam here!

Hoppy Easter, everyone! (excuse the Easter pun, just couldn't help myself) Hope all of you have had a lovely Easter this weekend with family and friends. I know I did! Here's a few pics of the eggs my sisters and I dyed yesterday. Yes, I'm 20 years old and I still dye eggs for Easter...so what. That's what happens when you have younger siblings. They keep you young at heart. At this rate I don't think I'll ever consider myself a grown up...and that's just fine with me.


 
We even made an egg for Bella, Rylan, and Lyla

 
Go Green!

 
I really like the way mine turned out this year


 
 
Though dying eggs may not be the exciting event it used to be, now that I'm older I'm able to really appreciate these little things that I've grown up with. Things that I will always remember, like dying eggs, or opening just one present on Christmas Eve, or even making homemade ice cream for the 4th of July. It's these small things that help to make holidays special and I'll always be grateful for that.
 
Today we were also able to enjoy some nice sunny warm weather and I tried to soak up as much vitamin D as I could. It gives me hope that spring weather is just around the corner. Fingers crossed that soon the tulips will be popping up and I'll be able to wear shorts again. I'd say it's about time! I love winter, but I'm ready for spring. And then soon after that summer will be here and I'll be free! Can't wait for that! So here's hoping that spring is here to stay! We've certainly missed it around here. Hope everyone has a wonderful week!
 
Love and Chaos,
Sam

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

A lovely little song

 
Hello, Hello friends. Sam here.
 
Because of a sad event that has happened in my family this week, I haven't had time for much writing. So tonight, I'm just going to keep it short and sweet and leave you with a song by a very talented musician. I've been following this guy on YouTube for awhile now and he just seems to keep getting better and better. His name is Lewis Watson and his new EP "Into the Wild" was just released on iTunes a few days ago. If you like this song, you should go check him out. This song, "Bones," is one of my very favorites. Hope you like it.
 
Love and Chaos,
Sam
 

Friday, March 22, 2013

Cousins

Hello, Hello friends! Sam here!

I have some very exciting news! A new precious member of my family has been born today!! My new little cousin, Lyla Jade. We've been waiting for her for what feels like a very long time!

Isn't she beautiful?!

She belongs to my cousin Scott and his wife Sunshyne who has become like an older sister and best friend to me. I love them both dearly and man, do they make some cute kids! Lyla's older brother, by just a little over a year is Rylan Jasper and he is my best little buddy!

What a handsome boy!

As you can see it's been a crazy past two years for them, but I think they've done such an amazing job as first time parents. Obviously I'm no expert on raising kids seeing as I don't have any, but I can't tell you how proud I am of them! It's still so weird sometimes, seeing my cousin Scott, who's been like an older brother to me all my life, with kids of his own, but he's been an amazing dad to Ry and I know that both Rylan and Lyla are lucky to have Scott as their dad. When I first met Sunshyne, or maybe the better word is encountered her, I was just Scott's cousin from across the street randomly peering through the kitchen window to find her eating her breakfast. We saw each other for a second, made eye contact, waved, and then I just kind of ran away. Despite my marvelously goofy first impression which we still joke about today, once I finally met her we hit it off right away, it was like she'd been a part of our family all along. She never fails to make me laugh or give me great advice and I'm so proud of how amazing she is with Rylan and how amazing I know she'll be with Lyla. Thanks for picking a great one Scott! Love you guys!! 




My whole family has been in a bit of a tizzy the past few years with babies being born, the first of which being my little cousin Carter who just recently turned three and then the addition of this girl right here who came along in 2011...
Isabella Marie saying "CHEESE!"
She can be quite the hurricane when she gets going, but man is she adorable! Her mom has done such a good job keeping up with her! With all these new babies showing up it goes without saying that my family is excited. These little ones are all just so freaking cute and I can't wait to see who they grow up to be, and I'm so very glad they get to grow up together because that's how it was for me, growing up surrounded by cousins.

In my family cousins are important. To us, our cousins are basically just like siblings who live in different houses. We've grown up together, we've played together, we've laughed and cried together, we've vacationed together and we've had some seriously epic games of wiffle ball together. I am who I am today because I had them around growing up. I understand that some families aren't as lucky as mine. They have cousins who live far away or cousins who they've never even met, but in my family growing up surrounded by cousins is like a tradition, each new generation growing up together and sometimes wearing matching Halloween costumes (once my cousin Josh and I went as Barney and Baby Bop). All of my earliest memories involve them in some way and I feel so incredibly lucky to have them in my life. It's like having a whole bunch of siblings who don't hog the bathroom or steal your things because they don't even live with you, but they still know how crazy your family is and they're there for all the important stuff; birthdays, holidays, vacations, all of it.
One of my first Halloweens. In case you were wondering, I'm the one in the Thumper costume sitting on Belle's lap...

Excuse our outfits, it was the 90s...

Some of us at the ZOO

One of my favorites...

Out in the woods by Mark Twain Lake

 Most of us with Great Grandma

Out on the pond. Another favorite of the Three Amigos...

Without all of you, my childhood wouldn't have been the same. You all helped to make it extra special and one that I will always cherish. You provided my sisters and I with older brothers and sisters, as well as younger ones, that we couldn't live without. You've helped me stay grounded while also cheering me on and supporting me in everything I've done. You've provided me with endless laughs and a treasure trove of memories that I will always carry with me. Because of you I've had a childhood some can only dream of. Thanks for being my cousins, my siblings who live in different houses, and most of all my friends. Let's play some wiffle ball soon, yeah? I'm getting a little rusty.

Meeting Lyla today and having Ry, Bells, and Carter in our lives gives me hope that our tradition of cousins will be carried on with them. I'm so happy that they'll all have each other now (as well as any new additions that come along) and I'm so excited that I'm around to watch the next generation grow up together, just not too fast, okay little ones. You're all really cute just like this. Hopefully someday my future kids will get to play some wiffle ball with you, just as I've done with your awesome parents. And just remember, you're never too old to chase lightning bugs, or get excited about the moon, or play ghost in the graveyard, or put one half of a watermelon on your head. Your parents and I are proof of that. 

Thanks for all the wonderful memories, the ones we've made and the ones we've yet to make. I love you all, always.

Love and Chaos,
Sam 



Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Because Poetry


Hello, Hello friends. Just your friendly neighborhood Sam here.
Today I want to share another poem with you. I've been really enjoying my poetry class lately and this week's assignment was to write a sestina. Now, I know what most of you are probably thinking...What the frick is a sestina, Sam?! Well, lovely readers, I will tell you! A sestina is a poem consisting of seven stanzas with a total of 39 lines that follows a specific pattern at the end of each line, in this case each line must end in the same six words, just in different orders, except for the last stanza. The order is repeated each time 6,1,5,2,4,3. Confusing, I know, but I'm bad at explaining things. If you want to know more Google it, people!  Anyway, I was a little afraid to even start this poem when my professor explained the assignment, but once I did start it just kind of took off. It's like how sometimes you'll be driving and then end up at home without any recollection of how you got there. Yeah, well writing a poem for me is kind of like that. I just start writing and by the time I reach the end I don't even remember how I got there in the first place. Be warned that this poem is a bit depressing. It's about my great-grandmother who has been suffering with a form of dementia for some years now. I wrote this for her and for my family. Hope you like it.
Corners
We have watched as the dust slowly covers the corners
of her mind, coating each surface in a gray film.
She forgets slowly, and then all at once it disappears;
names, faces, and sometimes even herself.
She doesn’t remember us anymore, doesn’t realize
the family resemblance between our faces.

Each time I see her I have to remind her that my face
is one she should recognize. She searches the corners
of her brain until she can pick it out again, until she realizes
that I am someone she used to know. The film
gets brushed away and for just a moment she is herself
once more. But it always disappears

again, a few minutes later. Her mind performs this disappearing
act every day now. Her own face
becoming a stranger to herself.
Quietly, she sits in the corner
muttering to herself about a film
she saw once when she was a girl, not realizing

that she is slowly shrinking, not realizing
that as she mutters she is also disappearing.
When you see this kind of thing happen in films
it is much more dramatic, but looking at her face
all I see is confusion lurking in the corners
of her eyes and mouth, as she searches for herself.

I can remember all the times when she was herself;
puttering around the kitchen, waiting for us to realize
that lunch was ready. When our parents came we hid in the corners
of that old house, trying to disappear,
so we could stay the night. A smile on our faces
when we got our way, and stayed up late with her watching old films.

These memories we all play back in our heads like a film.
Remembering how she used to be because she can’t do it for herself
anymore. We let her stare into our faces
just one more time, hoping she hasn’t forgotten for good, hoping she’ll realize
exactly who we are this time. Hoping she hasn’t disappeared
completely, lost in her mind’s dark, dusty corners.

Her mind is all corners now, coated in a film so thick it is hard to break through anymore.
All we can do is watch as she slowly disappears, from us and from herself,
wondering if this is the last time she’ll realize the similarities between our faces and her own.


Thanks for reading this far, I know those 39 lines can be long. 'Til next time.
Love and Chaos,
Sam

 

 

Sunday, March 17, 2013

What a Week

Hello, Hello friends! Sam here!

What a wonderful week it has been! I've spent the past nine days catching up on my sleep, getting some much needed sunshine, and catching up with some very dear friends of mine. All in all I'd say that Spring Break 2013 was a success! I haven't written at all this week because of how busy I've been and so now I'm going to rectify that with a run down of what exactly I've been up to. Prepare yourselves.

Monday was my day to relax. I spent my time sleeping in and vegging on the couch because during Spring Break you need at least one of those days...or two or three. Needless to say my yoga pants and I made the most of our veg time and spent a lovely day watching netflix. Then we went and picked up my sisters from school and drove around on the back roads a bit. It was wonderful.

Tuesday and Wednesday were spent with my very dearest and oldest friend. We watched old scary movies, we had pumpkin spice waffles, we reminisced about the old days, we filled each other in on what's been happening in our lives, we drove around aimlessly whilst listening to Mumford and Sons on repeat, had pizza in one of our favorite restaurants, made a Starbucks run, got lost for a little while, and then finished the day with YouTube videos. It was perfection. I need more days like Tuesday and Wednesday. If any of you have ever seen the Evil Dead movies from back in the day, you know the laughs we had. If not you should definitely check them out, they're pretty "groovy." (<<Evil Dead inside joke). And Madeline if you're reading this, thanks for the great day and all the laughs. May there be many more to come! Love ya, chummy!
P.S. "Who's laughing now?!"

Thursday I went bowling with two of my very best friends and we ended up going to a last minute showing of the new movie 21 and Over, which was actually quite hilarious. It had Willard from Footloose, and Jesse from Pitch Perfect, so what's not to love, right? After the movie we hit the bowling alley and I lost...terribly. Seriously, it was sad the margin I lost by, but to be fair I hadn't been bowling in almost two years, so yeah, that's what I'm blaming it on. It was great to catch up with my friends though, despite my awful bowling skills, and I hope we will be able to do it again soon. For real.

Friday my cousin and I went to a local showing of "Bye Bye Birdie" which starred a few people I knew from high school and it was great. "Bye Bye Birdie" has always been one of my favorite musicals and this showing was no different! I couldn't get the Conrad Birdie fan club song out of my head all night. "We love you Conrad, oh yes we do! We love you Conrad, and we'll be true!" Oh well, it was worth it.

Saturday my family and I went to the big St. Patrick's Day Parade in Downtown St. Louis for the first time and we were severly unprepared for the cold. We froze our butts off is what I'm saying, but it was still a fun time. We ended up wussing out before the end and finding refuge in a local sub shop called Planet Sub. If any of you have ever been there you know how good it is. I wanted to stick the sandwich down my coat for a little while just to warm myself up because of how cold it was outside. After warming up in Planet Sub we made the long trek back to the car, but it was worth it to get to see my little buddy Rylan. Love that kid.

And so my friends, we've come full circle to today. Sunday. It's raining here of course, but I don't mind. If any of you know me you know how much I love the rain, especially on a Sunday. It makes me want to listen to soft indie music and wish I could speak French. Tomorrow I go back to school, but I'm not too downtrodden about it. I had a great week with some great people and today is St. Patrick's Day! So Happy St. Pat's to those of you who have Irish heritage like me, and to those of you who aren't Irish, but just like any excuse to wear the color green and have a pint. More power to you! I'll leave you with a picture I took at the parade of a giant leprechaun. Seems fitting.

Love and Chaos,
Sam



P.S. Am I the only one who thinks that leprechaun is holding a hot dog? Seriously, I think that's what it is. Anyway, HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!



Sunday, March 10, 2013

Waxing Poetic

Hello, Hello friends. Sam here.

It's Sunday night and I find myself feeling a bit poetic. Maybe it's the lovely feeling of knowing I don't have to wake up early for school tomorrow, or the fact that rainy Sundays always seem to make me want to sit around drinking tea while listening to Iron and Wine, or even just the quiet stillness of this house at 10:22 at night, but I want to share a poem with you. Keep in mind that I am by no means a poet, not by a long shot, but I have loved poetry since I was in second grade. I've always loved reading it, but this semester in my Poetry class I've been falling back in love with writing it and since this is my blog I figure why not? This particular poem I wrote last week for class and it's about words; written words to be precise. And about how much I love them and the way they can be a kind of companion when no one else is around to talk to. How just one sentence or one little paragraph written by someone else can make you feel just a little less alone; whether it's in a letter, a poem, a book, or anything else really. I hope you like it, but it's okay if you don't. Regardless, thanks for listening.

Body of Words by Samantha Lee

A favorite poet of mine once said,
"It is hard
to build a body
out of words."
This is true.
But that does not mean
that words cannot hold you
together
like a favorite pair of arms.
It does not mean that words
are incapable
of keeping you company
on a rainy day,
as you sit together on the couch
and drink tea.
It does not mean
that words cannot catch you
when you fall,
or reach out to take your hand
and pull you back up again.
Words cannot make a body.
This is true.
But that does not mean
that words cannot whisper
in your ear, late at night
when everyone else
has gone to sleep,
and tell you
that they understand.
And that you
are not alone.


So there it is, out in the world. This is certainly a first for me, but it feels good.
As always,
Love and Chaos,
Sam

Friday, March 8, 2013

Nine Days of Freedom!!

Hello, Hello! Sam here!

Do you hear that, my friends? It's the sound of thousands of college students across America rejoicing in the beauty that is SPRING BREAK! Nine whole days of freedom to do whatever our little hearts desire, and for this heart it couldn't come any sooner. Though I won't be heading off to some tropical locale this week (It's not really my style, even if I could afford it) I will be relishing this short week of freedom by doing the opposite of what I did last year, which was absolutely nothing. Now don't get me wrong. Just like Winnie the Pooh  before me, doing nothing is one of my very favorite pastimes, I could do it all day in fact. This week, however, I am determined to actually get things done...and by things I mean FUN. Being the introvert that I am it would be perfectly normal for me to spend this whole week just lounging around the house, reading books, and catching up on my Netflix, but no longer! This week I am going to have some fun with actual people for a change. Though of course I will be saving a little time for the friends in my books, I can't ever forget about them, I am going to try and dedicate this week to getting out there, even if "out" is just my front yard. I suspect I am suffering from some seriously low levels of vitamin D and hopefully this week will rectify that. It's time to go out and do stupid things with my friends that we can still laugh about ten years later, that's what my Spring Break is going to be about! So in no particular order I will be going to see a play, bowling, watching movies with my friends, eating delicious food, walking around outside aimlessly, taking pictures of anything and everything with my new camera so I can post them on here, laughing with my friends, eating more delicious food, exploring, writing, reading, driving around aimlessly with the windows down and the music turned up loud, going to the park, more laughing, and lots of goofing around because that's what Spring Break is for. It's about that one week of freedom where you don't have to worry about classes or grades or anything pertaining to the plot of "The Spanish Tragedy" and that, my friends, is a very beautiful thing. So go out and have fun this week or whenever your Spring Break is, and I'll promise to do the same. Happy Trails!..or you know, just Happy Spring Break!!

Love and Chaos,
Sam

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Creative Juices

Hello, Hello! Sam here!
Now I told myself when staring this blog that I'd only be doing about one post a week, unless something really exciting happened or there was just something that needed to be said. Yet here I am only two days after my first post and I have to tell you that the creative juices are a-flowin'! I have so many different ideas that seem to be popping into my head at any given time during the day (mostly whilst I'm away from the computer, of course) and I can't wait to share some of them with you on here when the time comes. I feel like I want to post all the time now and I'm so very glad that this is the case. Being a busy college student, I don't always have the time to work on the things that I want to work on because I'm too busy working on the things I have to. This blog gives me a place where I can go whenever I want--even if it's just for five minutes--and let my creativity flow. It's a great feeling to finally have something like this other than the many documents that are saved to my microsoft word...something that actual people will see. Well maybe, I know there are at least a few of you out there. Mostly my family and friends, but it still counts! (Hi guys!) Anyway, I just wanted to write a little tonight about how excited I am to really commit to this whole blog thing and tell anyone who's listening that the TheLovelyChaotic (TLC for short and I swear I didn't plan that) is here to stay. Thanks to anyone who's reading this. You rock!

                                                                         Love and Chaos,
                                                                                            Sam

Monday, March 4, 2013

First Blog Post EVER!!

Hello, Hello! Sam here. This is my first official post on TheLovelyChaotic and I have to say I am feeling the pressure. What does one write for a first official blog post? Hmmmm. I've drawn a blank, but no worries! As I continue to figure all of this out I promise that posts will get better, really I do! Until then I just wanted to say a few things about what I'm planning on writing about here. First, I'm not going to limit myself to just one thing. Just writing about one thing is impossible for me to do, literally. So instead I'm just going to blog about whatever I want; books, movies, photgraphy, food, travel. You name it and I will probably eventually be talking about it on here. I'll be posting pictures, reviewing, and just writing to my heart's content. Sounds fun, right? I thought so too. Until then, I'll leave you with a list of ten things about me. Lists are good to start with, right? So here goes!

1. I love making lists. Seriously, I'll think of any excuse to make a list and check things off it. I'll even make lists of things I've already done just so I can check each thing off. That's how much I love lists.

2. I love my family. I know this is a pretty obvious one, but it's also something that must be said. Because I do. So much. And despite the fact that they are one crazy bunch, I love them all the same. They keep me grounded in this oh so confusing world and I don't know what I'd do without them.

3. My friends mean the world to me and I'd do just about anything for them. I've had the same three best friends since I was in elementary school and their friendship and support is what has gotten me through so many of the tough times in my life. Through the years I've also made some really incredible friends in high school and now in college and I'd be lost without them, all of them, literally and figuratively. So if any of you are reading this remember, "You rock. Don't ever change. And only, I really mean it."

4. Books. Need I say more. I think I read more than I do anything else, I think I read even more than I sleep and that's saying something.

5. I am studying to become a writer. Though I know you can't exactly become a writer just by studying, but don't worry, I'm working on it. Maybe someday you'll be reading something written by me other than this blog. I hope you do. I would love that.

6. I listen to music almost as much as I read and again, that's saying something. But I think my love for all things musical is best described in a quote by one of my favorite authors, John Green. "Some people have lives; some people have music."  In case you were wondering, I'm one of the people who has music.

7. I love winter. It's my favorite season. Snow, warm fuzzy sweaters, hot chocolate, Christmas, my birthday, the whole shebang. I love it all...though by february I am usually ready for some sunshine, but don't tell winter I told you that. It might hurt her feelings. Or his feelings. Whatever.

8. I love animals. I think so far overall my family has had seven dogs, one cat, three rabbits, a few fish, one mouse, three ducks, one horse, and a couple of hermit crabs. As of right now we have three dogs and one cat. R.I.P. to the rest of my furry, fishy, feathery, hermit crabby friends. I loved you all.

9. Traveling is my most favorite thing to do and if I can read and write while doing it then even better. I've been to lots of different places in the U.S. and even went to the Bahamas once when I was young and to Canada two summers ago. Now I've set my sights on the amazingness that is Europe. London, Paris, Amsterdam, here I come! Hopefully. Someday. Wait for me, will you?

10. And finally the last thing I'd like you to know about me is that I am a total and complete introvert. Hence the reading and writing and doing a lot of things that don't involve other people. It's who I am and I don't mind one bit, but I could use a bit of help in the confidence department. So that's why I've started this blog; to help me break out of my shell a little more and just have somewhere I can go to talk about what's happening in my life. Though it may not always be the most exciting thing in the world, it's mine and I love it. I hope you'll enjoy reading about it as much as I'll enjoy writing about it. 


Wow, that ended up being a very long list and as you can see I love a very many things in this world. It comes with being an introvert and a nerd I suppose. Oh well. I love it none the less. Here's to many more blog posts!

                                                                                Love and Chaos,
                                                                                                          Sam